The General (1926)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Directors:

Clyde Bruckman
Buster Keaton

Writers:

Buster Keaton (written by) and
Clyde Bruckman (written by) ...

Release Date:

5 February 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | War | Action

Tagline:

Love, Locomotives and Laughs

Plot:

When Union spies steal an engineer's beloved locomotive, he pursues it single handedly and straight through enemy lines.

Plot Keywords:

General | Confederate | Train | Spy | Escape

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Marion Mack	...	Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender	...	Captain Anderson
Jim Farley	...	General Thatcher
Frederick Vroom	...	A Southern General
Charles Henry Smith	...	Annabelle's Father (as Charles Smith)
Frank Barnes	...	Annabelle's Brother
Joe Keaton	...	Union General
Mike Donlin	...	Union General
Tom Nawn	...	Union General
Buster Keaton	...	Johnny Gray

Runtime:

Australia:107 min | Spain:80 min (1982 version) | Spain:83 min (1962 version) | USA:75 min (2003 alternate version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | UK:U | South Korea:All (2002) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Australia:G | Norway:7 (original rating) | Norway:A (re-rating) (2004) | Portugal:17 (director's cut) | Sweden:Btl | USA:Unrated | West Germany:6 | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA

Company:

Buster Keaton Productions

Trivia:

Buster Keaton wanted to use the real locomotive "The General" in the movie which was at the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot in Chattanooga, Tennessee (it's in Kennesaw, Georgia now), but was unable to, and had to dress up another 4-4-0 locomotive instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the General is first stolen, Johnny is washing his hands; when he sees the train pulling away, he walks away from the sink with his hands covered in soap, but in the following reverse shot where he tells the passengers what has happened, his hands are clean.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Annabelle's brother: Fort Sumter has been fired upon.
Mr. Lee: Then the war is here.
Annabelle's brother: Yes, dad, and I'm going to be one of the first to enlist.

Movie Connections:

Featured in So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM (2004) (TV)

An instant favorite

I haven't had so much fun watching a movie for a long time. The General is a silent comedy (mostly slapstick) about Johnny Gray, a train engineer with two loves: his engine and Annabelle Lee. Annabelle soon dumps him because of his failure to enlist into the Civil War (they would not take him because he was too valuable as an engineer). Things are then sped up a year, where we see some Union commanders planning to hijack a train to unleash a highly sophisticated master plan. As it so happens, they steal Johnny's engine, a big mistake.

Buster Keaton does a phenomenal performance as Johnny. His face and character is ideal for this type of comedy. He reminds me a lot of Leslie Nielsen from the Naked Gun movies (but, of course, less old). He is often ignorant of what is going on around him, leading to plenty of laughs. This also makes him a very charismatic character.

There are countless train related jokes. The first one comes right at the beginning, when we see Johnny being followed by two kids and a woman, in a line much like a train. The bulk of the movie is made up of Johnny running a train, either chasing or fleeing from the Union soldiers. The movement and maneuvering of the trains is beautiful. The stunt work is an incredible accomplishment. The finale is explosive.

The General was a lot of fun to watch. It gave me more laughs than most modern comedies, and had plenty of substance on top of that. This is enough for me to label it as one of the greatest comedies ever. After my first viewing, it instantly became one of my favorites. It is timeless gem that should be watched at least once by anyone interested in movies.